One Choice: Obama

     The Scranton, Pa., Times-Tribune: “America’s problems call for new leadership. In that regard, Mr. Obama has the potential to be a truly transformational figure. There has been much speculation about the potential impact of race on the election and an Obama presidency. But the truer transformation in his election would lie in a different demographic. He represents a generational shift and a view definitively rooted in the future rather than the past. He will strive to heal our wounds abroad and call Americans to common purpose at home. His time is now.”
     The Minneapolis Star Tribune: “An Obama presidency would reaffirm for the country and the world the possibilities offered by a free, inclusive and democratic society. It would herald an important generational shift in American leadership and provide hope for a more unified nation.
     “Even after a bruising campaign by two strong candidates, Obama’s optimistic message of unity endures. On Nov. 4, Americans will set a new course. In Barack Obama, they have a candidate who can inspire faith in better days to come.”
     Anchorage Daily News: “It is Sen. Obama who truly promises fundamental change in Washington. You need look no further than the guilt-by-association lies and sound-bite distortions of the degenerating McCain campaign to see how readily he embraces the divisive, fear-mongering tactics of Karl Rove. And while Sen. McCain points to the fragile success of the troop surge in stabilizing conditions in Iraq, it is also plain that he was fundamentally wrong about the more crucial early decisions. Contrary to his assurances, we were not greeted as liberators; it was not a short, easy war; and Americans — not Iraqi oil — have had to pay for it. It was Sen. Obama who more clearly saw the danger ahead.”
     Re: Gov. Sarah Palin — “Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range. Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time.”
     The Baltimore Sun: “Senator Obama is a relative newcomer on the national stage. But he has proved to be that rarest of public servants, an inspirational leader who would transcend any enduring racial barriers and call upon the best in the American character, a public servant who also possesses the finely honed political skills necessary to turn the nation’s highest ideals into practical policies that benefit citizens.”
     New Orleans Time-Picayune: “Over the past century, there have been moments when the world held its breath and looked to America for the next move: Our rescue of a broken Europe after World War II; the Cuban missile crisis; the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
     “We are again at a critical juncture in history. Global markets are imploding. People’s life savings are dwindling. Energy needs and climate change call the very foundations of modern society into question. Rogue nations and terrorist organizations have heightened the danger of nuclear proliferation. These problems transcend national boundaries.
     “Here in the New Orleans area, a cataclysmic man-made flood turned our world upside down and revealed a profound national neglect of our infrastructure. Our vulnerability and the government’s unpreparedness were emblematic of other disasters waiting to happen elsewhere in this country.
     “America is poised on the cusp of new leadership, and once again the world, transfixed, is watching. Who is equal to these challenges? Who will lead the nation that leads the free world?
     “Our choice: Barack Obama.”

ELSEWHERE
     Make sure to read Paul Krugman’s column “Desperately Seeking Seriousness.” In it the recent Nobel Economics Prize winner describes where McCain’s campaign went wrong — in the midst of the nation’s worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. “The Obama campaign has hardly been fluff-free — in its early stages it was full of vague uplift. But the Barack Obama voters see now is cool, calm, intellectual and knowledgeable, able to talk coherently about the financial crisis in a way Mr. McCain can’t. And when the world seems to be falling apart, you don’t turn to a guy you’d like to have a beer with, you turn to someone who might actually know how to fix the situation,” Krugman writes.